Inflammation and swelling are very common phenomena in daily life and in medicine. Hemorrhoids are a medical problem accompanied by very unpleasant manifestations, such as inflammation, swelling, exudates and pain. The treatment of any inflammatory and tumescent, edematous process (such as dermatitis, hemorrhoids or any localized infection) is divided into a conservative (local and/or systemic) treatment and a specific (sometimes even surgical) treatment. Obviously, the local conservative treatment is more frequently used than the systemic or surgical treatment.
A huge plethora of local treatments have been, and still are, in use today, from creams and ointments to dry or wet dressings containing various substances and medicaments. Some of the treatments depend on the topical application of hypertonic substances, such as magnesium sulfate and other salts or even sugar and honey. The use of hypertonic soaking solutions applied as irrigation on absorbing dressing is one of the commonest local treatment modality. This method can be easily used on many areas of the body, especially the limbs. The use of soaking dressing on the trunk or face, and especially on the perineum region is technically difficult and only occasionally attempted. The commonest method is using sitting baths of hypertonic solutions to bring the medicaments (salts, in this case) to the perineal region. All these treatment modalities are used for external problems and may be less effective in case of internal hemorrhoids or deep, subcutaneous inflammatory processes. In such cases, more invasive methods and devices, such as penetrative probes, should be used.
Hemorrhoid supporting pads are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,660,238 and 4,761,843. They have only a mechanical function, rendering sitting less painful, but they provide no treatment of the hemorrhoid inflammation.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,040,424 describes a surgical absorbent pad that can be applied in hemorrhoidectomy procedures, but is not intended for medicating the affected area.
It is a purpose of this invention to provide a device, specifically a pad, for treating inflammatory and swelling phenomena, that is effective, simple, economical and easy to apply.
It is another purpose of this invention to provide such a pad that is particularly adapted for the treatment of hemorrhoids, especially the ones with external components.
It is a further purpose of this invention to provide such a pad that includes medicaments that are readily available and harmless.
Other purposes and advantages of this invention will appear as the description proceeds.